Crude Nation: How Oil Riches Ruined Venezuela

Crude Nation tells the story of a country addicted to oil riches. The book explores the everyday economic reality that makes Venezuela – the nation with the world’s largest oil reserves – a ticking time bomb. It brings to life an upside down world where people buy and sell U.S. dollars in secret, and smuggle gasoline and food for a living. Drivers fill their gas tanks almost for free and used cars never lose their value over time. Venezuela’s consumers assume as much debt as they can handle and, paradoxically, spend their money on breast implants and flat screen TVs to safeguard their wealth. In Venezuela, only the ignorant save money; smart people max out their credit cards whenever possible.

The book brings to life the stories of Venezuelans and the author’s own experiences in the troubled nation and explores how and why people in this oil rich country suffer shortages of toilet paper, wait in line to buy rationed Colgate toothpaste and have trouble finding coffins to bury their dead. Venezuela became a poor country ruined by mishandling too much oil money. It is a place where regular citizens are convinced that, one day, a generous political leader will solve all their problems. Crude Nation is scheduled to be released in fall 2016 by U.S. publisher Potomac Books. For updates on the book’s development join the Crude Nation email community on the home page. Pre-order the book at: amzn.to/1TVYSL2.

Thank you for your email. You can sign up for book updates on the main page. You are right, there are no non-fiction narratives about PDVSA or Venezuela, only academic books. And I believe Crude Nation will come out at a time when people most need to understand what is happening in Venezuela. Stay tuned.